Apparatus for handling bricks in stacked units.



R. C. PENFIELD. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICKS IN STACKED UNITS.

' APPLICATION FILED JAN-12, 1912- 1,205,562. Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 16%6716596 6 I Z nue7a%o C. PENFIELD.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICKS IN STACKED UNITS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-12, 1912- T v a Patented MW. 21, 1916.

4 SHEETS SHEET 2.

R. C. PENFIELD. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICKS IN STACKED UNITS.

APPLICATION FILED .IAN- I2. 1912.

4 sums-sum 3.

1771077, I" CF67? Patented Nov. 21, 1916 I77JZJ6TO%O7"S 3885' 22 I,

I e%a0ww R. C. PENFIELD.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICKS IN S-TACKED UNITS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I2, I912.

- Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

RAYMOND C. PENFIELD, 0F NEXV YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICKS IN STACKED UNITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 191".

Application filed January 12, 1912. Serial No. 670,825.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND C. PEN- FIELD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, county and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Handling Bricks 1n Stacked Units, of which the following description, in connection'with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus for lifting and transferring bricks in stacked units, of the type having a series of spaced apart, parallel fingers adapted to enter'passages in the lower part of the brick units, with provision to laterally grip the bottom brick lines and lift them along with-the rest of the stack, the apparatus being adapted to deposit the stacked units and be withdrawn without disturbing the stacked formation. Apparatus of this gene 'al type is shown in my prior Patent No. .99,519, issued August 1, 1911, and the present invention may be consideredin a general way as an improvement over the mechanism of said patent. The present machine, in common with that shown in said patent, is adapted to engage and lift units of any length or height or depth within considerable limits, the illustrative machine shown having a maximum capacity for eight bricks long, four bricks deep, and ten bricks in height, including the basiclayers.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a relative ar-' rangement of the parts to which the lifting impulse is applied relative to the .parts which engage the brick stack, so that they are substantially balanced with reference to a vertical slide hearing which these parts have on each other, so that the parts have a direct vertical movement, and a perfect balancing of the machine either with or without load is effected.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of compression springs between the movable parts adapted to have an initial compression sufficient to keep the movable parts in fixed relation when there is no load upon the machine and to yield under compression when- 10? l is brought upon the springs to per1n it th. operation of the lateral clamping 'devices.

Another object is to provide an improved construction of swiveling ClQVlCQ adapted for use in connection with the lifting mechanism to permit movement thereof as required for proper positioning in setting the brick units, while keeping the stack level and evenly supported; the preferred embodiment shown for effecting this result including a four-hook crane and a four-hook swivel in conjunction with a four-hook suspension of the setter. This feature of providing a four-point suspension capable of swiveling action is of particular importance in a setter of the type herein shown, where large loads are to be handled, and therefore where means is necessary forlnaintaining the entire carrying frame steady and level when loaded, irrespective of the amount of load carried by the frame, Heretofore it has been customary in setters of this type to depend solely upon the construction of the lifting apparatus and of the balancing bars and springs therein to maintain the setter substantially level so that it may be lifted from a single point of suspension, but this type of,v setter was necessarily limited to carrying small loads of brick, and was not applicable to ,carrying large loads, for

example, an entire wagon load, without a plurality of points of suspension insuring the substantlally level position of the setter at all times.

A still further object is to provide an inrproved manner of connection from the bail to the lifting levers and from the levers to the equalizer beam, so that all these parts are free for self-adjusting movement to insure a uniform distribution of pressure upon the basic layers of bricks, thus enabling the machiie to take care of any variations in the thickness of the bricks and making it certain that all bricks in the basic layer shall be lifted together tion.

The above and other objects of the invention having to do with improved structural features will be bettermnderstood from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying. drawings,-

and in undisturbed rela-' Fig. 2 is a plan View on a smaller scale,

showing the parts of the swivel support. Fig. 3 is a side, elevation, partly broken away. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a lifting finger. Fig. 5 is afragmentary sec- 'eigshcwing the means pingrvplate Fig. partly in section, showm of the invention, and elevation, partly broken n. arative einln dinicnt of the inshown, and referring first to Figs. base bar or frame 1 is employed "h lf )l.-i,a'l)i)lltllilg to that of the to be hamllcd, and to this bar are ics oi horizontal, parallel, spaced in: lingers the length of these T determined by the depth of the or combinations of units which it is i to handle at a time. The base bar ually spaced from its center ince therefrom, uprights 3 as guiding siideways for oving bails by which the li'i'tcd. e are each formed of a pair of bars en which a depending projection is in" guided. These guiding held rigid in upright position at. either side extending diagovnward and bolted to lugs: on the ne, as seen at 8. Each bail i is Ql'ffl'ltitzdl with anti-friction rollers front and back for engaging the fool-lions oi' the uprights 3, and its depending tens on in is provided with similar rollers ll, tor engagement with the back sides of said uprights. .llach hail i has a longer portion 13 extending out from the front side of the uprights, i. the side from which the lifting fingers 2 project, and a shorter portion 14. projecting out from the opposite or rear side. The base frame 1 and the bails 'r'c constitute the two relatively movable portions of the mechanism, ,the relative movement between which etl'ccts the operation of tar cl mping elements, and between these relatively movable parts sets of compression springs 15 at either side are interposed. To furnish a backing for these springs, plates lli are bolted to the braces 7 and thus made rigid with the base frame and in these adjusting bolts 17 are threaded and adapted to hold at their lower ends backing heads 13 for the springs, in adjusted position. These adjusting bolts may be locked in the desired adjusted position by usual lock nuts 19. The short rear extensic 14 ot the bails have each pivoted thereto depending link rods 20, which are connected at their lower ends to an evener bar This bar is pivotally connected at.

The uprights 3 at ends of the series of springs 15, there being guide rods 31 extending upward from these seats and slidable through the heads 18. The levers 27 have also connected thereto, intermediate of their length and shown as between the seats 30 and the lifting pivots 2e, 25, straps engaged with an equalizer beam 33. As seen in Fig. 3, the lower ends of these straps are flared out and fitted over. the equalizer beam which may be, as shown,

ries, and hence to the number of bricks in depth which the machine is adapted to lift. Each set of rods for the respective fingers is pivotally connected to a set of bell crank levers 37 fulcrumed at 38, one behind the other, as shown, in a rearward extension 39 of the base framework andconnected at their other, and as shown, shorter, ends, each to one of the rods of a set 40; These sets: of

rods 40 extend into the respective fingers 2 along lengthwise recesses 41 formed in one 4 side of the lower part of said fingers. Eachfinger is also recessed at intervals along its length, as seen at 42, to provide m'ountings and seats for the grip plates 43. These grip plates are pivotally mounted, as at 4.4, on lever arms 45 mounted on vertical pivots 46 in the fingers and having rigidly connected therewith, other, and as shown shorter, lever arms 47 with which the operating rods 40 are pivotally connected, as seen at 48.

T he grip plates 43 areof some little length, as shown, to adord adequate gripping surfaces, and when in drawn-in or collapsed. po-.

sition are housed in cut-outportions 49 in the front sides of the fingers. In their expanded position as they swing out on the lever arms 45 as the rods l0 are drawn out ward, and project out from the sides of the fingers, they press upon the sides of the basic lines and by the frictional engagement thus created effect the lifting thereof along with the rest of the unit. By reason of the arrangement of the evener bar :21 with the central movable connections 2:2, 24, 25, the lifting impulse, though it may be unequal on the bails at the two sides of the apparatus, is rendered even and uniform in its application to the equalizing beam 33. The springs 34 interposed between the equalizer beam and the grip plate operating rods 40 accommodate inequalities in the several bricks, so that each grip plate engages a brick with yielding equalized pressure and springs are made strong, so as to only yield appreciably under the strain exerted .in lifting a brick load and they are adjusted so as to be initially under some little compression and thus keep the relatively movable bail and base frame and parts carried thereby in normally fixed relation.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is generally similar to that just described, nd corresponding parts differing slightly in structure therefrom, but the same in function, are designated by corresponding characters primed. In this form the evener bar .21 is pivotally connected by a link to a second bar 51 centrally there of, the bar 51 having link connections 52 at its ends to the lever 27.

, In both forms of the invention shown, the apparatus as described is supported in depending relation to an overhead swiveling device by links 58, pivoted to the bails at their rearward extensions, and like links 54, pivoted to the forward bail extensions, these connections being at points selected with reference to an even distribution of the lift when the machine is loaded. .The upper ends of links 53, 5e are pivotally connected to T-bars 55, there being two of these bars spaced apart over the respective bails. The bars 55 are fixed to a peripheral flange 56 extending from an outer ring 57 which is provided with an inwardly extending runway 58 for anti-friction balls or rollers 59. An inner ring 60 is provided with a runway 61 coiiperating to hold the balls 59 in place, a'ndthis ring has fixed to its top T- bars 62' shown as' arranged in spaced apart parallelism. The end portions of these bars extending without the .rings have fixed underneath the same other T-bars 63, forming therewith a lifting frame, and at the endsof these latter bars are secured lifting straps 64, adapted to be engaged by the hooks of a crane, or other transporting apparatus. It is thus to be observed that the lifting connection from the bails at is effected through the four links composed of the pairs 53, 54, which links are symmetrically disposed with reference to the center of the load and that the lifting connection from the crane to the turntable provided by the two cooperative rings 57, 60, is likewise through four spaced apart hook connections which are also symmetrically disposed about the load center.

I consider the construction whereby the relativeguided sliding movement between the bails and the" base frame is substantially coincident with the load center to be an especially important feature of the invention, since thereby the relatively movable parts operate in what may be termed the axis of lift, and a substantially perfect balancing of all parts of the machine from the crane connections to the load is effected; this construction also enables an easier and more certain operation of the relatively movable elements, since the binding tendency between these is reduced to a mini-- mum. The construction and arrangement whereby the bail is attacl :d to the equalizer beam and hence to the grip plates through a system of movably pivoted levers, including an evener, is also an important improvenient, since thereby a uniform distribution of pressure is brought upon all parts of the basic brick layeris, thus making certain the lifting of the entire basic layers in undisturbed relation to the rest of the stack and taking careof any variations in the thickness of the bricks.

The four-point suspension and the turntable which I have shown and described, constituting automatic means to raise and maintain the entire brick setting frame steady and level at all times during operation, when loaded, and with varying successive loads of brick, enabling a relatively large stack of brick to be handled, is of particular importance. Such construction also enables the entire load. to be swung around and fixed in any desired position and to be stacked evenly when swung to new position and released from the setter. I believe it to be a distinct novelty in this art to provide swiveling means having a plurality of lifting points symmetrically 'arranged, and therefore wish to claim the same broadly.

I am aware that various of the features of the construction can be modified in many respects without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I thereforedo not desire to be limited as to these, or in any way, except as set forth in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

. 1. An apparatusof the kind described, comprising a base frame having lingers extending at one side thereof with brick clamps, spaced apart bails slidably guided on said base fram extending out over said fingers and also at the other side of the line of slidable engagement with the base frame, said bails being connected to operate said brick clamps, and also having springs positioned to balance the parts along the lines of slidable engagement when under load, an

"Qoyerhead lifting frame, and links connecting said l fting frame to sald bails near the ends thereof and constituting a substantially balanced suspension for the, apparatus under load.

An apparatus of the kind described,

comprising a baseframe having lifting fingers with brick clamps, spaced apart bails nected to operate said brick clamps and liar v ing provision for balancing along the line A of slidable engagement withthe base frame under load, and lifting means including a plural link connection to said bails symmetrically disposed with reference to the axis of lift.

3. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a base frame having lifting fingers extending at one side thereof with briclr clamps, bails in slidable engagement with said base frame with connections for operating said brick clamps, a lifting frame having plural link connections with said bails, and a swivel connecting said lifting frame with a crane or the like, said swivel and said link connections being arranged symmetrically with reference to the axis of lift when the machine is loaded.

4:. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising an upper support adapted for engagement by a crane or the like, a lifting frame havinga turn-table connection with said upper support, bails having link connections with said lifting frame, said link connections and said turn-table being symmetrically disposed with reference to the axis of lift, a base frame in slidably guided engagement with said bails havihg laterally extending fingers with brick clamps carried thereby, connections from said bails to opcrate said clamps, and a spring connection between the bails and said base frame adapted to yield under load for the purpose stated.

5. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a base frame having lifting fingers'extending laterally therefrom with brick clamps, spaced apart bails slidably guided on the base frame, connections from said bails for operating said clamps and for lifting the load, including levers pivoted to either side of the frame connected with the clamps, and an evener connected centrally 'to the free ends of said levers and at its ends to said bails for distributing lifting strains.

6. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a base frame having a series of laterally extending fingers with brick clamps, spaced apart bails in slidable engagement with said base frame and having connections to operate said clamps, including an equalizer beam with individual yielda. lifting grip to the bottom row of bricks while still in contact with the ground, a second frame constructed and arranged to slide uponsaid finger-carrying frame, and to actuate the brick clamping means on said first frame, yielding connections between said brick clamping means and said sliding frame, in combination with normally vertical lifting links applied 'at a plurality of points on the sliding frame whereby movement of the latter. frame operates the brick clamping means.

8. In a brick handling machine, the combination of a lifting frame having a series of freely projecting fingers, a second frame slidable upon the lifting frame, a plurality of normally vertical lifting links adapted to raise the second frame and slide the same upon said lifting frame While maintaining both in parallelism, brick-clamping means co'o'perating with said fingers and operated by the relative sliding movement of said two frames, and balancing springs connecting said two frames and'modifying the opera tive movement of said frames and clamping means.

9. In a brick handling machine, the combination of a lifting frame having a series of freely projecting fingers, a second frame sliding upon th lifting frame, a plurality of normally vertical lifting links adapted to raise the second frame and slide the same upon said lifting frame while maintaining both in parallelism, brick clamps operatively related to said fingers, means connecting said clamps with the sliding frame, including.

yielding devices, and balancing springs connecting said two frames.

10. In a brick handling machine, the combination of a lifting frame having a series of freely projecting fingers, a secondframe slidable upon the lifting frame, a plurality of normally vertical lifting links adapted to raise the second frame and slide the same upon said lifting frame while maintaining both in parallelism, brick-clamps operatively related to said fingers, means connecting said clamps with the sliding frame, including yielding devices, and balancing springs between the lifting frame and the sliding frame and "having ,p ovision for being operated with said connecting means.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this spedification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RAYMOND c. PENFIELD Witnesses H. B. CRUM, C. V. Mnn'rrns. 

